An American national who tried to enter the North Sentinel Island in the Andaman was killed due to “misplaced adventure” in the highly-restricted area, a senior government official said on Thursday. This was his fifth visit to Andaman and Nicobar Islands and he had come on a tourist visa. He was killed with bows and arrows , police said.
John Allen Chau (27) had not informed the authorities of his visit to the Sentinel Island; the inhabitants have not faced incursions and remain hostile to outsiders. Police got to know about the killing from the American Consulate in Chennai which forwarded an email sent by Mr. Chau’s mother about his visit to the island and “the attack by tribesmen”.
An official said that Mr. Chau’s body is yet to be recovered and there were no evidence to confirm that he had gone to the Islands to convert the inhabitants to Christianity.
The Hindu Explains: Who are the Sentinelese?
In this handout photo provided by the Indian Coast Guard and Survival International and taken on December 28, 2004, a Sentinelese tribesman aims his arrow at an Indian Coast Guard helicopter as it flies over North Sentinel Island in the Andaman Islands, in the wake of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
“You can't call him a missionary or a preacher, all though he has mentioned at many places about God and Jesus, in totality the way he conducted and planned...it was a case of misdirected adventure. When he handed over the letter (for his mother) to the fishermen who came on November 16 to take him back, he was purportedly injured with an arrow but went back to the island again,” Dependra Pathak, Director General of Police, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, told The Hindu .
In the letter he asked his mother to forgive him and said had he had been bestowed by Jesus to visit forbidden places.
Mr. Chau had hired a fishing dinghy from the Chidiyatapu area and on November 16 reached close to the island, from where he travelled in his own canoe. He had made a failed attempt to reach the island on November 14 as well, police said.
American John Allen Chau in Cape Town in October 2018, just days before he left for India.
Mr. Chau’s family released a statement on Instagram saying they had recently learned from an unconfirmed report that he was reportedly killed in India while reaching out to members of the Sentinelese Tribe. “To others he was a Christian missionary, a wilderness EMT, an international soccer coach, and a mountaineer. He loved God life, helping those in need, and had nothing but love for the Sentinelese people,” the statement said.
“On the morning of November 17, they (the fishermen) saw a dead person being buried at the shore, and from the silhouette of the body, clothing and circumstances appeared to be the body of Mr. Chau,” police said.
“We have not been able to go to the island and are devising a strategy on how to proceed. We have held meetings with anthropologists and academics today. We conducted aerial survey and also surveyed the island on a ship from a distance, but couldn’t gather much,” Mr. Pathak said.
The National Commission of Scheduled Tribes termed the incident “unfortunate” and sought a report from the Home Ministry and the Andaman and Nicobar administration.
The North Sentinel Island is one of the 29 islands in Andamans where travel rules were relaxed by Centre in June this year. Earlier foreigners had to take special permission — the Restricted Area Permit (RAP) — before being allowed to visit them.
"Even though the RAP was withdrawn, any foreigner is required to take permission from the forest department and the administration of the island is protected under two other acts — protection of aboriginal people and forest acts. He didn't take permission from anyone," a senior Home Ministry official said.
Asked whether the government may consider to reimpose the RAP in the North Sentinel Island in the wake of this incident, the official said as of now there is no such plan and any decision can be taken only after "due diligence".
Seven persons including the fishermen have been arrested.
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